


slowly, then all at once

by thugboyfriendnagisa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: College AU, Kagehina Exchange 2015, M/M, Post-Canon, Trans Character, Trans Male Character, awkward dorks not realizing they love each other, for participant 58, kisses in the snow bc i am weak, trans!hinata, winter time fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-06 20:02:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5428934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thugboyfriendnagisa/pseuds/thugboyfriendnagisa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kageyama and Hinata finally make their way to college to play volleyball together like they had planned their first year of high school.</p><p>College is hard, and it's even harder when you realize that you are in love with your best friend (and that you probably have loved your best friend for a very, very long time).</p><p>for the Kagehina Exchange on tumblr!!</p>
            </blockquote>





	slowly, then all at once

“Are you sure you have everything?”

Tobio sighed, shoving the last box into the moving truck before turning towards his mother.

“ _Yes_ , for the ten trillionth time,” he replied, “I have everything. We _triple_ checked everything last night, Mom.”

“I _know_ , I know…I just…” Tobio’s eyes widened as her lower lip trembled and tears filled her eyes, “…I just can’t believe my baby is going off to c-college...!” Tobio felt a lump form in his throat as his mother tried to choke back her tears, looking up and fanning her face. “I swore to myself I wouldn’t cry…” she said, sniffling and squeezing her eyes shut, the tears finally falling.

Tobio immediately stepped forward and wrapped his mother up into a tight hug, her fingers clutching at his shoulder blades as she sobbed into his shoulder, trying to will back his own tears.

“It’s gonna be okay,” he mumbled into the cloth of her shirt, “I’ll call you whenever I get the chance. Plus, you have Nicolas to take care of now.” Tobio looked up to the living room window where the longhaired Dachshund was watching the scene with his tongue hanging out and his tail wagging happily, completely oblivious to the mood of the situation.

“Take care of yourself, okay?” she sniffled, pulling away and pressing a kiss to his cheek, “And take care of Shouyou, too. You know how he is.”

“Yeah,” he said with a soft smile, then he turned to his father, who gave him a soft smile of his own. “Bye, Dad.”

“Goodbye, Tobio,” he said, putting a large, proud hand on his shoulder, “We’ll be rooting for you, okay? And don’t be afraid to give us a call if you need anything, or be afraid to come home for a break. We’ll always be there for you.”

“Yeah,” Tobio choked out, sniffling as his dad pulled him in for a hug, giving him a couple firm pats on the back. Tobio sniffled again, giving his dad a firm squeeze and letting the fabric of his flannel shirt absorb his tears, his mother rubbing his back soothingly. He really was going to miss his parents. They were the only steady people in his life, the only people there for him when things got too hard.

But it was time to grow up. And like his father said, he could always call or come back if he needed them.

Tobio pulled away from his dad’s embrace with another wet sniffle, rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie and giving them both a wobbly smile.

“I guess I better get going,” he said, clearing his throat, “Hinata is probably waiting for me.”

“Oh, of course!” his mother fretted over him, rubbing away a stray tear and procuring a tissue, seemingly out of nowhere, and rubbing his nose with it. “Make sure to drive safely, okay?! Call us when you get there! Don’t call us when you’re driving! If you have to text us, or anyone, give Shouyou your phone! And-!”

“ _Mom!_ ” he said exasperatedly. “I know. I’ll be fine. I’ll call you when I get there.”

“Okay.” She took in a deep breath, letting it out with a sad smile. “ _Okay_.”

“Drive safely, Tobio.” His father said, wrapping his arm around his mother’s shoulders, giving her a comforting squeeze. Tobio nodded, reaching up and closing the back of the truck, and moving towards the driver’s seat. He paused, his hand hovering over the door handle, before giving in to his selfish desires and scuttling back towards the both of them for one last group hug and kiss goodbye.

After that, Tobio had no qualms as he hopped into the truck, pulling away from his house and finally, finally, taking his first steps out of the nest of Miyagi.

-x-

Tobio pulled up to Shouyou’s home, finding a very teary Shouyou holding a wailing, inconsolable Natsu.

“C’mon, Natsu,” Shouyou sniffled, “If you keep this up, _I’m_ gonna start crying.”

“Why do you have go away?!” she sobbed, “Why couldn’t you just stay here with me?!”

“ _Because_ , Nacchan,” he began softly, “I have to go and follow my dreams. Don’t you want to see me fly at the Olympics?” Natsu sniffled, rubbing her eyes stubbornly and pouting.

“…Yes,” she admitted quietly, and Shouyou grinned.

“So, in order for me to fly, I have to leave the nest,” he explained, “I’m not leaving forever! I’m going to come back and see you and Mom and Dad during breaks and stuff like that.”

“…Is Tobio-niichan gonna come back, too?” she asked, finally bringing attention to the boy leaning against the moving truck watching the situation.

“Of course,” he replied easily, “I’ll make sure your brother makes it back okay. He won’t do anything stupid while I’m around.”

“I don’t know how safe I feel with _you_ making sure I don’t do anything stupid,” Shouyou teased, Tobio easily reaching over to smack him in the back of his head.

“Start packing your stuff, dumbass,” Tobio shot back, opening the back of the truck.

Shouyou’s father had to go into work, so they had already said their goodbyes the night before, and Shouyou’s mother came outside holding two neatly folded bento boxes for them to eat during their ride up, Tobio bowing and taking it gratefully, the last of Shouyou’s boxes going into the van, and Tobio giving his friend’s mother and sister one last hug and kiss goodbye, then giving the three of them a moment by themselves so Shouyou could say goodbye.

He waited in the driver’s seat, not bothering to look over to the boy, who closed the door with a sniffle.

“You ready?” Tobio asked quietly, and Hinata let out a tiny ‘yeah’, sniffling again.

Tobio put the truck into drive, keeping his eyes forward and holding out one of his hands, Shouyou gratefully taking it with a squeeze, choking back a sob.

The first steps out of the nest of Miyagi.

-x-

The rooms in the sports dorms are fairly spacey and, one thing that Shouyou was grateful for, they had their own bathroom.

There was one window, two beds, one against either wall, two desks, two dressers, and the two of them were free to arrange their room in any way they wanted. After arranging, they began unpacking, setting up their things and putting away their clothes. They also got to meet some of the other sports players in the dorms, some basketball players, baseball players, a couple other volleyball players. They took a break to go eat in the cafeteria, then went back to unpacking, finishing when the moon was in the sky and they were both exhausted, flopping onto their newly made beds.

“Hey, Kageyama,” Shouyou spoke up quietly after they had turned out the lights, Tobio fighting to keep his eyes open.

“Mm?” he responded, and it was quiet for a moment before Shouyou spoke up again.

“Let’s get to the Olympics.”

Tobio snorted in amusement, a sleepy smile stretching across his face.

“Go to sleep, dumbass.”

-x-

College was…difficult.

It was hard to balance classes and volleyball, and soon the two of them had to start looking for part time jobs to support themselves and start saving up for an apartment.

Aside from all of these normal problems, Tobio ran into…another problem.

“I think I’m getting sick,” he said, watching Shouyou break his chopsticks.

They were at the gyuudon place a little ways off campus, Tobio watching Shouyou’s lips with a furrowed brow as he brought a hefty helping of the cooked meat to his mouth, blowing on it and putting it in his mouth.

“Sick?” Shouyou asked around the mouthful of meat, and Tobio frowned harder.

“Yeah,” he replied, breaking his own chopsticks with a _snap_ , “Sick.”

“Sick how?” Shouyou tilted his head, “You haven’t been coughing or sneezing or anything.”

Tobio paused, taking a bite of his own gyuudon, feeling his cheeks heat up.

“I feel warm,” he muttered around the bite of food. “Feverish. And like,” he swallowed, trying to make eye contact with Shouyou again, but found he couldn’t for more than five seconds, and quickly looked back down at his bowl of meat, “My chest hurts. And my stomach feels upset.”

“That’s a really weird sickness,” Shouyou admitted, “Did you Google your symptoms? What if you’re dying, Kageyama?!”

“I’m not dying, dipshit,” Tobio growled, “I’ll Google my symptoms when I get home, alright? Geez…”

They finished their meal, paying separately and making their way back the dorms, talking about plays they went over during practice.

The whole time, Tobio found he couldn’t look Shouyou in the eye without his stomach flipping and his heart pounding in his chest.

What the fuck.

They made it back to their dorm, Shouyou complaining about his binder and Tobio reaching for his laptop and flipping it open, ignoring Shouyou flittering around and getting ready to go to bed.

“I’m taking a shower!” Shouyou announced, and Tobio let out a grunt of acknowledgement, starting to type his symptoms into Google.

After searching for a few minutes and coming up with pregnancy or a heart attack, he decided to forget Google and call someone he thought was fairly knowledgeable in all things health related.

“Hello?”

“Good evening, Suga-san,” Tobio replied, “Sorry for calling so late. Are you busy?”

“Oh, no, you’re alright!” Koushi said, and Tobio could hear his bright smile through the phone, “I’m just doing some studying with Daichi. He says hi.”

“Hello, Daichi-san,” Tobio replied, then, “Um, Suga-san, I need your help.”

“Sure! What’s up?”

“I, uh. I think I’m getting sick. And I typed my symptoms into Google and it said I was pregnant.”

“Oh…kay…” Koushi replied slowly, “Have you gone to the doctor, Kageyama?”

“No,” he sighed, “It didn’t seem like anything life threatening. Hinata told me to Google my symptoms, but like I said, Google thinks I’m pregnant.”

“Well, give me your symptoms then.”

“My stomach feels upset,” he began, “And I feel all hot and sweaty. My chest hurts, too, and my heart starts beating really fast for no reason.”

“Hmm,” Koushi hummed thoughtfully, “Say, Kageyama…Do these things happen when you look at someone?”

“Look at someone?” Tobio echoed, thinking back to when he experienced the symptoms.

“Because from what you’re telling me, it sounds like you have a crush on someone. Ooh, did you meet a nice person at college? I can’t believe you’re growing up this fast, Kageyama!”

“A…crush?” he repeated again, wracking his brain.

Suddenly, the bathroom door burst open, Shouyou rubbing his hair dry with a towel, a baggy black t-shirt and baggy sweatpants on, his skin a flushed pink from the heat of the shower. His eyes brightened, giving Tobio a grin.

“Hey! Did you find out what’s wrong with you, sick Yamayama-kun?”

Tobio paused, blinking at the other boy before his whole body slowly locked up, his muscles clenching as he felt his face heat up and his grip tighten on his phone.

“Kageyama-kuuun? Was that Hinata? Let me talk to him!”

Tobio wordlessly, and slowly handed Shouyou his phone, and Shouyou furrowed his brow, walking up to grab the phone.

“Who is it?” he asked, then looked at the screen, his grin coming back, “Suga-senpai! Hi!”

The two chattered excitedly, Shouyou flailing his arms and gesturing wildly as he talked to Koushi about college and volleyball so far.

A crush.

A _crush_ …on…

“Fuck,” Tobio hissed, burying his face in his hands, “ _Fuuuuck_.”

-x-

After his earth-shattering new revelation in his life, Tobio was unsure of what to do.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that these feelings – feelings for Shouyou – had been building up over a long period of time. The sad thing was, he was literally so invested in volleyball that he didn’t have time to recognize them.

He started observing Shouyou more, even though it made his face heat up, his heart thump wildly, and his stomach churn. He noticed big things, and he noticed little things.

Tobio noticed that while they’re out to eat, if Tobio’s meal had mushrooms in it, he never ordered his meals without them. Because Shouyou just naturally reached over to his plate, and picked the mushrooms out. He noticed that when Shouyou got a drink from a vending machine, he always wordlessly handed Tobio the bottle or can to take a sip, and they passed it back and forth while they were walking and talking.

Right now, he was noticing the way Shouyou was squirming and tugging at his binder.

“…You okay?” he asked, shoving his key into the door to their room, Shouyou nodding and wincing.

“I’ll be okay once I get this off,” he replied, “Then I’ll be _super_ fine once I can afford top surgery. Get these stupid things off me once and for all.”

They entered the room, Tobio closing the door behind them and Shouyou squirming out of his coat and scarf, tugging his arms into his hoodie and wriggling a bit before his binder fell to the floor, a huge sigh of relief leaving Shouyou’s mouth.

“Thank God,” he moaned, falling face first onto his bed. “I’m so tired. Do you wanna go to the cafeteria in a little while?”

“Sure,” Tobio replied, setting down his backpack and shrugged off his coat. He paused, looking at Shouyou laying on the bed, stretching out his back and limbs with a grunt, his face scrunching up in discomfort. “…Do you want me to give you a massage?”

Tobio paused, wondering why he even said that. He wasn’t even good at massages.

“Would you do that for me?” Shouyou asked, giving Tobio a little smile, “I haven’t had a massage in a while, and binders can take a lot out of you.”

Tobio blinked, then nodded, averting his eyes when Shouyou sat up, tugging off his hoodie and leaving him in a plain white t-shirt, situating himself on the bed.

“Thanks a lot, Kageyama! It’s mostly my upper back, and shoulders,” Shouyou stretched out again as Tobio moved towards the bed, carefully climbing on and sitting on his knees next to the other. Shouyou looked at him from the crook of his elbow, a confused grin on his face. “…You can sit on my legs if you want? It’ll probably be easier for you, too.”

“Oh…” Tobio looked at Shouyou’s legs, which he kicked back and forth a couple of times before Tobio moved one of his legs over so he was straddling the other. He felt his cheeks and the tips of his ears heating up as he stared down at Shouyou’s body underneath his. He tentatively reached down with both his hands, gently brushing against the orange-haired boy’s shoulder blades, “Is this okay?”

“Yeah,” Shouyou sighed, humming when Tobio pressed the heels of his hands into his back, “This is perfect.”

Tobio swallowed as he continued to work his fingers into Shouyou’s muscles, carefully rubbing at knots and areas of tightness. Shouyou gave appreciative hums and sighs, rolling his shoulders periodically, then Tobio moved from his shoulders to upper back.

“ _Ah_ ,” Shouyou spoke up, “Right there.”

Tobio blinked, pressing into his skin. “Here?”

“A liiittle lower,” Shouyou murmured, inhaling sharply when Tobio’s fingers dug into a tender spot, “Ah, _there_. It’s been driving me crazy for _weeks_ now.”

Tobio made a noise of acknowledgement before gently working at the spot, rubbing gently before slowly adding more pressure.

“ _Nnh_ ,” Shouyou let out a little grunt of discomfort, then as Tobio slowly worked at the spot, he melted into his bedsheets.

Then it happened.

Shouyou moaned.

Tobio halted in his movements, staring down at the boy beneath him, his eyes wide, jaw slack and his face heating up all over again.

“Why’d you stooop?” Shouyou whined, “Just a little more, Kageyama, and the knot will be out!”

“F…Fine! Shut up, dumbass!” Tobio shouted louder than he needed to, quickly working at the knot, Shouyou giving another appreciative moan.

“Mm, that’s much better!” Tobio moved off of the other, quickly standing and turning away, Shouyou sitting up and stretching out his body. “Thanks a lot, Tobio! One day I’ll have to return the favor!”

“It’s not that big of a deal,” Tobio replied gruffly, “I’m gonna get ready to go eat.”

“I better get ready too!” Shouyou said, hopping off his bed and rummaging through his dresser. Tobio took refuge in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub and letting out a shaky breath, hiding his face in his hands.

“ _Fuck_ ,” he hissed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “How long am I going to keep this up…?”

-x-

“Kageyama is acting weird.”

Shouyou made himself comfortable next to Kenma on the blonde boy’s bed, giving him a pout. Kenma looked away from his DS to raise an inquisitive eyebrow.

“Weird how?”

“I feel like he’s…avoiding me?” Shouyou replied, heaving a sigh. “Like, we talk and play volleyball together and stuff, but other than that…he like…seems really stiff and awkward?” Shouyou let out a frustrated cry, “I don’t know! It’s like he’s _there_ , but he’s not!”

“Isn’t Kageyama _always_ stiff and awkward?” Kenma asked, pressing a couple buttons on his DS.

“Well…I mean, yeah, but not with me! It’s different this time!”

Kenma heaved a frustrated sigh, closing his DS with a loud ‘snap’ and turning himself towards Shouyou, who was observing him with wide eyes.

You know Kenma is serious when he puts down his video games.

“Shouyou,” he began, soft but firm, “I love you, I do. You’re one of my best friends.” He placed a comforting hand on Shouyou’s shoulder, giving him a slight glare, “But sometimes you are so painfully oblivious and painfully unaware of your own feelings.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Shouyou squeaked, and Kenma gave him a harder, more disgruntled glare.

“Please don’t make me spell it out for you,” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, “You’ve been chattering about Kageyama for as long as I’ve known you. I’ve seen you two together. It’s like there’s no one else in the room.”

Shouyou blinked, and Kenma’s face softened.

“How do you feel about Kageyama?” Kenma asked softly.

“Um,” Shouyou scratched his cheek, “He’s one of my best friends. And he always gives me the best tosses! It’s always like, _gwuaah!_ Or, _fwuaah!_ ” Shouyou sat up, gesturing excitedly, “And when I spike the ball it’s like, _gyuuun!_ And then-And then I look over, and Kageyama is there-!”

Shouyou halted, his hands slowly falling into his lap.

“…K…Kageyama is there,” he mumbled, feeling his cheeks heat up, “And he’s smiling that one smile that isn’t scary at all…the one where he’s excited about volleyball. And when I see him smile like that, _I_ get excited and…”

Shouyou paused, his eyes widening. Kenma smiled softly.

“And?” he prompted.

“…And i-it’s like…my heart,” he clutched his t-shirt, “My heart goes _gwuaaah_. And I feel like I can do _anything_.”

Shouyou looked up at Kenma, his grip tightening on his t-shirt.

“Oh my God,” he whispered, “I _like_ Kageyama.”

-x-

They were waiting for the train.

It was holiday break, and the two volleyball players were given a few weeks off to return to Miyagi and be with their families for Christmas and the New Year. They stood side by side on the platform, Shouyou’s bag in between them.

It was awkward.

Shouyou had only figured out that he liked Tobio the week before, and he no longer knew how to act around the other. The only time he felt normal was when they were on the court together.

When volleyball wasn’t there to distract them, it was just…

Terrible, painfully awkward silence.

Shouyou kept sneaking glances over at the other boy, who had taken up flicking through his phone, probably looking at scores of games and stats online. Shouyou figured he would be better off doing something else than helplessly pining and trying to not stare at Tobio’s face (his handsome, _handsome_ face).

He pulled out his own phone, digging in his pocket for his headphones as well, tapping Tobio on the arm.

“I’m gonna put in my headphones, so can you tell me when the train gets here?”

“What do you need headphones for?” Tobio grouched, and Shouyou blinked up at the other boy who was giving him a grumpy pout.

“Um,” he held up his phone, “I was gonna play Love Live for a little bit…”

“Love Live?” Tobio repeated, and Shouyou grinned.

“Yeah! It’s like a rhythm game where you have to hit the circles to the beat of the song and stuff,” he explained, glancing down and moving his bag in front of himself, holding out his other headphone, “Here, wanna watch?”

“Uh,” Tobio hesitantly plucked the headphone out of Shouyou’s hand and moved in a bit closer, “Sure.” he mumbled, and Shouyou felt his cheeks heat up and his grin get wider when their arms brushed.

“So Love Live is about school idols,” Shouyou explained, “So in this game you collect idols and raise their levels, and if you get two of the same idol, you can idolize them and get a special idol!”

“…Okay.”

“…Here, it’s easier if I just show you!”

Shouyou picked an easy song, knowing he would just fumble and mess up a hard song, and he didn’t want to mess up too badly in front of Tobio.

“So here’s my team!” he explained, “Kenma told me to try and get as many Love Gems as possible so I could start collecting rarer idols, but sometimes I get impatient,” he chuckled sheepishly, “I’ll show you Love Gem stuff later! But this is how you play!”

Shouyou tapped at the circles to the beat of the catchy pop song, humming along as he stuck out his tongue in concentration. Tobio watched carefully from over his shoulder, frowning thoughtfully.

“This doesn’t look that hard,” he commented, and Shouyou snorted, continuing to tap the circles.

“Well, this is just an easy song,” he replied easily, grinning proudly as the screen flashed “FULL COMBO” when he finished, “If you want, you can try to play a song on hard.” They both looked up to see the train pulling in, Shouyou quickly shoving his phone into his jacket pocket with his headphones.

“Fine,” Tobio snorted, accepting his obvious challenge, “After we get on the train, I’ll play a song.”

The two of them gathered their belongings and made their way to their seats, sitting down and getting comfortable for the two hour ride. Shouyou pulled his phone back out, offering up his other headphone to Tobio again as he pulled up the game.

“Here, you can pick!” Shouyou handed his phone over, leaning onto the armrest between them so he could watch. He felt Tobio tense slightly, but he carefully listened to all the previews of the song available under the hard option, picking the one he deemed good enough to tap to and the session began.

Shouyou watched in disbelief as Tobio tapped, holding up pretty well for someone’s first time playing Love Live. He didn’t get a full combo, but he managed to hit every single circle.

“What the fuck, Kageyama?!” Shouyou cried once the screen popped up with a C rank score, “You cheated!”

“I did no such thing!” Tobio hissed, “And keep it down, people are trying to sleep, dumbass!”

Shouyou sighed loudly moving away, and begrudgingly accepting his phone from Tobio and deciding to play a couple rounds on his own. Tobio had pulled out some homework and began trying to work on that, and soon Shouyou ran out of LP to keep playing songs. He sighed, closing the app and staring out the window for a while, letting out a yawn.

“Hey, Kageyama,” he murmured, his eyelids drooping. Tobio let out a grunt of acknowledgement, furiously clearing out his calculator. “I’m tired.”

“So? Go to sleep then.” Tobio muttered, erasing the numbers he had written down before flipping through his notes again.

“Can I borrow your shoulder?” Shouyou asked quietly, and Tobio’s paper flipping came to a halt.

“…I mean, it’d be more like my arm, but-” Shouyou silenced his statement with a swift smack to Tobio’s stomach, the other boy trying hard to hold back his snickers so he didn’t disturb the rest of the train.

“Never mind, I don’t want it,” Shouyou grumped, folding his arms and definitely not grinning at Tobio’s small smiles and soft chuckles at his own stupid joke.

Nope. Not at all.

“Go ahead,” Tobio finally said, going back to his math problems. Shouyou swallowed lightly before moving closer and resting his head against the warm material of Tobio’s hoodie.

“…I can’t believe you made your once-a-year joke at my expense,” he muttered, his eyes falling closed and a sleepy smile on his lips.

“I don’t make jokes once-a-year, dumbass,” Tobio retorted, “I make jokes biannually.”

“…Was that your second joke of the year?” Shouyou snorted, looking up to see Tobio smirking slightly.

“Yep. Finally reached my joke quota in one day. Good thing, too. The new year is coming.” Shouyou covered his mouth to smother his laughter, grinning up at the other boy.

“Since when are you so funny, Tobio-chan?” he cooed, and Tobio pinched one of his cheeks.

“Don’t call me that,” he ordered, “You sound like Oikawa-san. Go to sleep already, dumbass.”

“Kay. Wake me when we get there?”

“Mm.”

Shouyou adjusted himself and nuzzled his face into Tobio’s hoodie sleeve, sighing happily and letting slumber take him.

-x-

“Since everyone is home for the holidays, we thought it would be fun to get the whole team back together!”

“That sounds great, Suga-senpai! What day is it going to be?”

Shouyou held his phone between his shoulder and his ear as he continued to put an unnecessary amount of Christmas clips into Natsu’s hair. He got the information from Koushi about the party, and after bidding goodbye, observed his work.

“Okay Nacchan, I’m finished.” She held up her tiny, pink, princess hand mirror, and Shouyou had to bite back his bark of laughter when she saw her excited grin turn to a scowl.

“This is ridiculous, nii-chan,” she huffed, “I don’t need this many clips! Take ‘em out!”

Shouyou cackled, reaching up to remove the clips one by one while he snickered under his breath.

The two got caught up in Christmas specials, Natsu sitting comfortably in Shouyou’s lap as she was engrossed in the story of Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, their mother bringing them mugs of hot chocolate to drink while they watched.

Sitting on the couch with his little sister in his lap and his head resting on his mother’s shoulder while his dad, snoozing with his arm around his mother, rested his hand in his hair.

He felt like a phone that just got plugged in. He didn’t get to cuddle much at college (Kenma could only take so much human contact at a time and Tobio tended to not enjoy human contact), so being at home was like a big weight off his shoulders.

It was nice.

-x-

To: Dumbass Hinata

_Hey, you’re going to the Christmas party at Sawamura-san’s house, right?_

From: Dumbass Hinata

_ya!!!!!! r u goin??????_

To: Dumbass Hinata

_Yeah. Do you want to go together?_

From: Dumbass Hinata

_ya!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i can come to ur house bc it’s closer to daichi-senpai’s!!!!!!!!_

To: Dumbass Hinata

_Obviously, dumbass._

To: Dumbass Hinata

_Are you enjoying your break?_

From: Dumbass Hinata

_Σ(゜ロ゜;)!!! wow, grumpy yamayama-kun asked me how i’m doing!!!!!!_

From: Dumbass Hinata

_my break has been rly good so far!!!! me n nacchan r cuddlin (^3^)/ she wants 2 kno when u r comin over 2 c her!!!!!!!_

To: Dumbass Hinata

_I’ll visit before we leave. I got her a Christmas present._

From: Dumbass Hinata

_OoO!!!!!!!!_

From: Dumbass Hinata

_OMG U DID KAGEYAMA WAT DID U GET HER SHE IS FREAKIN OUT_

To: Dumbass Hinata

_She’ll find out when I see her._

To: Dumbass Hinata

_I’m tired, so I’m going to bed now. I’ll talk to you later._

From: Dumbass Hinata

_goodnite tired yamayama-kun!!!!!!! sleep tite!!!!!!!!!!_

-x-

“So you’re going to tell him tonight, right?”

Tobio frowned, allowing his mother to fuss with his hair while they sat on the couch waiting for Shouyou to arrive. Nicolas sat in his mother’s lap, adorned in a hideous plaid Christmas sweater, but looking very content as he dozed peacefully.

“I…guess so,” he muttered, feeling his cheeks heat up, “…I should have never said anything to you about this. I didn’t know you would try to adamantly to set me up with him.”

“Tobio,” his mother smiled and rested her hand on his knee, “I’m very happy you were able to come to me about something like this. It means a lot to me as your mother.” Her warm smile fell away to a serious frown, “But I’m completely and utterly serious about you asking Shouyou to be your boyfriend.”

“ _Mooom_ ,” he whined, and Nicolas’ ears perked up at the noise, letting out a mimicking whine of his own, wagging his tail when Tobio’s mom scratched his head.

“Tobio! You’re doing it tonight! And after your party you’re bringing him back here so I can give him a cake to send home to his mother.”

The doorbell sounded, and Tobio quickly shot up from his seat, Nicolas jumping off his mother’s lap to follow and bark loudly at the intruder.

“Good evening, Kageyama-kun!” Shouyou greeted, quickly kneeling down to pet Nicolas happily. “Hello, Nicolas! Wow, you’ve grown up a lot!”

“Oh sure, you’ll say hello to the dog, but not to me?” Tobio’s mom joked, walking over with her arms folded and a playful pout on her face.

“Auntie!” Shouyou chirped, rushing past the dog to wrap her in a hug, “Merry Christmas!”

“Merry Christmas to you too, sweetie,” she cooed, planting a kiss on his cheek, “Have you been enjoying college?”

“I have!” he grinned, then gave Tobio a pointed look, “And I’ve been taking care of your son, just like you asked me to.”

“Wait,” Tobio interrupted, raising an eyebrow, “You told _me_ to look after _him_.”

“What, you can’t _both_ look out for each other?” she retorted, giving them both a knowing grin when their cheeks flushed, “Alright alright, the two of you better get going before you’re late to your party! Shouyou, make sure you come back here before you go home! I have a cake for you to take back for your family, okay?”

“ _Wahhh!_ ” Shouyou cried, “Cake! Th-Thank you, Auntie! I’ll make sure to pick it up!!”

“Of course! Now go, go!” she shooed them out the door, the two of them bidding her farewell, Nicolas giving them a farewell bark as well, and they were off to the party.

-x-

They made their way to Daichi and Koushi’s apartment, Shouyou talking excitedly about the upcoming holidays.

“Okay Kageyama-kun, favorite Christmas present you’ve ever gotten, go!”

Tobio paused, observing Shouyou’s finger pointing at him dramatically before humming in thought.

“A new volleyball,” he replied, and he blushed at Shouyou’s exasperated groan, “Sh-Shut up! Let’s hear your best Christmas present then, dumbass!”

“Easy! A vol-!” Shouyou cut himself off, turning away embarrassedly and muttering under his breath, “A volleyball.”

“Mhm. As I suspected.”

“What do you mean, ‘as you suspected’?!” Shouyou grouched, giving Tobio’s arm a sharp smack, ducking and jogging ahead to avoid Tobio’s hands grabbing at his hair with a laugh, “Whatever. Besides, I plan on getting an even better gift this year.”

“Oh really?” Tobio raised an eyebrow, “And what, pray tell, is better than receiving a volleyball for Christmas?”

“You’ll see~” Shouyou sing-songed, turning and walking up to door of Daichi’s apartment, ringing the doorbell.

The door buzzed, allowing the front door to open and for Shouyou and Tobio to enter, wandering up the stairs.

-x-

“Shouyou!” Ryuunosuke boomed when he saw his kouhai, “An’ Kageyama-kun! Welcome to the party!”

“Don’t answer other people’s doors!” Daichi barked, shooing Ryuu back into the house, giving Shouyou and Tobio apologetic smiles, “Sorry, he’s like three beers in already. Come in, don’t be strangers!”

The two entered the apartment, taking off their shoes and being greeted with the boisterous bellows of their former teammates, Shouyou yelling in excitement while Tobio simply raised a hand in greeting.

“Shou-chan!” Yuu cried, gesturing him over, “I haven’t seen you in forever!”

“Noya-senpai!” Shouyou greeted, quickly jogging over to the other male, the two of them hugging. Tobio waved at Kei and Tadashi, the freckled boy patting the empty seat next to him. Tobio muttered a thank you and sat down.

“How have you two been?” he asked, watching Shouyou chatter excitedly with the slightly inebriated Ryuu and Yuu, the rest of his former senpai catching up with each other.

“I’ve been good,” Tadashi replied, “Definitely have been keeping busy up at school.”

“Fine.” Kei said when the two looked at him expectantly.

“How have you and Hinata been?” Tadashi asked politely, turning his attention back to Tobio, “How is college volleyball compared to high school?”

“Intense,” Tobio said, “Definitely a lot more work. But…” he smiled at Shouyou explaining something to his senpai while gesturing wildly with his hands, “…It’s been a lot of fun, too.”

“Oh has it now?” Kei asked, following Tobio’s line of sight with a smug smirk. “So you finally figured it out, huh?”

“Figured out what, Tsukki?” Tadashi asked, looking from Kei’s smirking to Tobio’s flushed cheeks. “…I missed _something_ big…”

“So what are you going to do about it, King?” Kei continued, ignoring Tadashi, who pouted at being left out.

“…I’m asking him out after the party,” Tobio admitted quietly, and Tadashi looked at him in confusion and shock.

“Ask who out to where? You _guuuys!_ ” Tadashi whined, and Kei rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, Yamaguchi.” Kei uttered, “You’ll figure it out as soon as I’m done with this sentence.”

Tadashi frowned, looking back and forth between the two, then his eyes brightened in realization.

“Oh!” he turned to Tobio with a bright grin, patting his shoulder, “Good luck, Kageyama! Something tells me that everything will turn out in your favor, though…”

Tobio looked from Tadashi back at Shouyou, who was laughing and smiling. Their eyes met from across the room, and Shouyou smiled wider, his cheeks flushing as he gave Tobio a small wave. Tobio smiled fondly and waved back, Shouyou turning away when Koushi asked him something.

“I hope so.” He said quietly.

-x-

The party was nice, everyone catching up and sharing stories from their college experiences. Ryuu and Yuu were the only ones that got a little too drunk, Tobio having to step in to share a beer with Shouyou so he wouldn’t get drunk and make stupid decisions.

“Why won’t you let me have fun, Stingy-yama??” he whined, making a move to take the beer bottle from Tobio’s hand, but he moved it away.

“You can have fun in moderation, dumbass,” he replied, “I won’t be held responsible for you hurting yourself because you’re a lightweight.”

Shouyou pouted, and Tobio took another swig of the beer, flushing slightly. Honestly, he just didn’t want Shouyou to get super drunk and not remember consenting to dating Tobio. He looked back to Shouyou, who was pouting next to him on the couch, then sighed, nudging his arm and passing him the beer. Shouyou grinned, accepting it from him and taking a sip.

“To be honest, beer isn’t even that great,” Shouyou admitted, and Tobio hummed in agreement.

Soon it was getting late, and when people started yawning, they took it as their cue to take their leave.

“It was really good to see you guys tonight,” Koushi smiled at the two of them as they pulled on their shoes, “Keep in touch, okay? And have a happy holiday! Oh!” Koushi put his hand on Tobio’s shoulder and grinned at him, “And have a happy birthday, Tobio!”

“Thank you, Suga-san,” he muttered, bowing politely, “Same to you and Daichi-san.”

“Bye, Suga-senpai!” Shouyou chirped, going in for the hug, which Koushi gladly accepted ruffling his hair, “Tell Daichi-senpai that we said goodbye!”

After final farewells, Tobio and Shouyou made their way out into the night.

-x-

“Ahh, it’s getting colder!”

Tobio watched as Shouyou kicked his way through the snow on the sidewalk, piled up during their time at the party: sparkling, pristine and untouched.

“I can’t wait to get home,” Shouyou groaned, squirming slightly, “My binder is killing me.”

“Hey,” Tobio interrupted, Shouyou pausing and turning to look at him. “Wanna take the scenic route home?” Shouyou’s eyes followed where his thumb was pointing to the entrance to the park, which would probably prolong their journey back to the Kageyama household, but Shouyou found himself grinning and nodding, the two of them making their way across the street and into the park.

Tobio watched warily as Shouyou balanced himself on a bench covered in snow, then confusion as he started gathering the snow off the bench to make a ball.

“What are you doing, dumbass?” Tobio asked, blinking when Shouyou handed him the ball of snow.

“Toss to me!” Shouyou exclaimed, and Tobio gave him a dirty look.

“Toss to you? How am I supposed to toss a snowball, shithead?!” Shouyou laughed, pushing it into his hands.

“I trust you!” he said, “Toss the ball, and I’ll hit it!”

Tobio looked down at the snowball in his hands and then looked to Shouyou, who grinned and nodded. Tobio sighed, moving the ball into position, flushing slightly when Shouyou’s eyes brightened. The other boy turned, then jumped off the bench, poising his hand for the toss. Tobio pushed the snowball off the tips of his fingers, cringing as the ball started to fall apart in midair, but Shouyou smashed the snowball to smithereens before it could crumble, bathing him in the snowy aftermath.

Shouyou landed on his feet, laughing and brushing snowflakes away from his eyes, Tobio stomping over to help him.

“Dumbass, don’t rub more snow in your eyes!” he grouched, moving closer to carefully wipe snow from his cheeks. Shouyou giggled, blinking away snowflakes to look up at Tobio, smiling happily.

Tobio paused from where he was brushing snow away from the other’s face, lips parting in awe. Snowflakes clung to Shouyou’s eyelashes, making his eyes sparkle in the dim lighting of the street lights, his cheeks and nose flushed red and lips chapped from the cold. Shouyou blinked, tilting his head. Tobio inhaled sharply, moving his hands down from Shouyou’s cheeks to his shoulders.

“Hinata,” he began, giving his shoulders a squeeze, “ _Shouyou_.” He corrected, closing his eyes, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. “I-”

“I love you.”

Tobio blinked open his eyes, staring down at the other who was grinning widely, reaching up to cup Tobio’s cheeks in his cold, wet gloves.

“I love you, Tobio.”

Shouyou pulled Tobio down, and he numbly obeyed, allowing the orange haired boy to press a soft, slow kiss to his cheek, dangerously close to the corner of his mouth.

“You…” Tobio breathed when Shouyou pulled away, staring at him wide eyed. His shock gave way to anger, and he quickly grabbed Shouyou’s head, giving it a squeeze.

“ _Owowowowow!!!_ ” Shouyou cried, trying to pry Tobio’s fingers off his skull, “What the fuck, Kageyama?!”

“Dumbass!! _I_ was supposed to confess to _you!!_ ” he shouted, letting go of the boy’s head before wrapping him into a hug, “Fucking dumbass. It was the perfect moment and everything…”

“But if _you_ confessed to _me_ , it wouldn’t have been my best Christmas gift!” Shouyou cried into the fabric of his jacket. Tobio’s face scrunched up in confusion, pulling Shouyou out of his shoulder to look at him.

“Are you saying that me confessing to you would have been a bad Christmas gift?”

“No! Of course not!” Shouyou pouted, looking away, cheeks red, “I…My Christmas gift…” he squirmed a bit, avoiding eye contact, “…My best Christmas gift ever was seeing the look on your face when I told you I love you.”

The two of them paused, their cheeks heating up rapidly as they avoided looking each other in the eye.

“…Dumbass,” Tobio huffed, taking Shouyou’s gloved hand in his and tugging him down the park path, “Don’t say sappy shit like that all nonchalantly.”

“Sh-Shut up, Bakageyama!” Shouyou yelped, giving his hand a squeeze, “You like me being sappy and you know it!”

“Whatever,” Tobio huffed, “Just be quiet. We haven’t even been together five minutes and you already are annoying me enough for me to break up with you.”

“You wouldn’t!” Shouyou cried, moving in front of him with worried eyes. Tobio blinked, this his face softened to a fond smile, and he leaned down to press a gentle kiss to Shouyou’s lips.

“I wouldn’t.” he replied softly, and Shouyou pouted, scrutinizing him before nodding resolutely.

“Of course you wouldn’t,” he replied, “Now let’s get to your house! I have to pick up that cake from Auntie!”

“Yeah, yeah.” Tobio huffed, and the two of them walked to his house hand in hand.

-x-

“Kageyama.”

“Mmn.”

“Heyyy~ Ka-ge-ya-ma-kuuun.”

Tobio groaned and batted the finger pestering his face, prying his eyes open to see Shouyou hovering over his bed.

When the two of them had reached Tobio’s house to pick up the cake, it had started snowing again, more heavily than it had snowed earlier in the night. Tobio’s mother urged Shouyou to spend the night, not wanting him to trek through the mountains alone. The two of them calling up Shouyou’s mother and she agreed, allowing the boy to spend the night.

The two of them.

In Tobio’s room.

…Alone.

“What do you want, dumbass?” he grumbled, and Shouyou fiddled with his fingers before meeting Tobio’s gaze again.

“Can…I sleep with you?” he whispered, “I-It’s really cold…on the floor…alone…so…”

Tobio blinked himself awake, his eyes widening and his cheeks heating up. The two of them stared at each other, Shouyou finally pouting and looking away.

“Geez, if you didn’t want to, you should have just said so-”

“No-!” Tobio grabbed Shouyou’s wrist, looking away when Shouyou looked back at him. He swallowed and cleared his throat, opening his blankets with his free hand, “I-I don’t mind…I just…You took me by surprise is all…”

Shouyou blinked, then smiled, quietly crawling into bed next to Tobio, the two of them facing each other, their legs tangling together (Tobio hissing when Shouyou’s cold toes pressed in between his calves), and after five minutes of figuring out how to maneuver their arms around each other, Shouyou looked at Tobio with half-lidded eyes and a sleepy grin.

“Hey,” he giggled, and Tobio smiled back, his own eyelids drooping.

“Hey yourself.” He replied, and Shouyou giggled again.

“Kiss me?” he asked, and Tobio obliged, their lips meeting softly with a soft, approving hum from Shouyou.

“Good night, Shouyou.”

“Good night, Tobio.”

And the two of them drifted off just like that.

**Author's Note:**

> hello, kagehina exchange participant number 58!!! surprise!!! i am your, um. kagehina santa??? \\(^ w ^;)
> 
> i hope you're okay with college aus and trans hinata and CONFESSIONS IN THE SNOW!!!!!!! i am weak for snow confessions and kisses in the snow. i am so weak. i am even weaker when it is kagehina. 
> 
> i've been working on this bad boy since basically when i got my assignment. i was so excited at the idea of writing about dumb volleydorks who don't realize they love each other until they get to college and have other people spell it out for them because they're both too invested in volleyball. also i put hinata playing the love live app bc i'm addicted to it. aND kageyama with a dog. named nicolas, probably bc of gangsta. imagine kageyama's mom being secretly obsessed with gangsta. incredible.
> 
> UMM i guess that's all i got for youse!! you can come yell at me about kagehina on my tumblr, queenanimetrash!! 
> 
> thank you in advanced for any kudos and comments, and i hope you like your exchange gift, #58~


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